hospira symbiq pumps?

guest239592 · Apr 29, 2009

Those pumps can support two channels. They look pretty flashy w/ a good-looking user interface, colorful, touchscreen etc.

HOWEVER...

I have had a lot of horror stories. I was a student nurse intern last summer on a highly acute med/surg/transplant ICU when our facility went w/ these pumps. First, the tubing diameter you have to use is really small, so it's super easy to get small air bubbles (nothing i was concerned about), which leads to endless alarms. This also means it's hard to bolus fluid fast. Another annoying thing is the touch screen. You have to be so precise when touching it else it won't take you to the screen you want, or do the function you want. A lot of times I like touch screens (like the Phillips monitor screens) but this one is glitchy.

That's not really the worst though, more the annoying. The worst stories i've had is pumps shutting off for no reason, (and yes it was plugged into the wall, so it wasn't a battery issue). You can imagine how bad this is when you have multiple vasopressors running in, or other critical drips. To make matters worse, we would try to get the line out of the channel holder (there's a way to force it open w/o having the machine on) and this wouldn't work from time-to-time.

I read online that Hospira recalled about 11,000 of their pumps not too long ago. Maybe the problems will get fixed.

Personally for smart pumps I've used, the new Alaris ones are nice for having additional attachment capabilities (esp the PCA, that's pretty sweet I think so you don't have to get a whole new pump to add to all the clutter). They're pretty slick and I personally like them.

I would have to say though my favorites are the Baxtor colleague w/ guardian drug index. These pumps are so easy to use, are very small, can have up to three lines running per pump, and hardly give you problems. They may not look that flashy, but from my experience w/ the hospira pumps, as long as the equipment works, who cares if it's old/not flashy.

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Apr 30, 2009

Funny you should mention these. My hospital swtiched to them about 24 hours ago from the Alaris SE Gold.

I don't have a strong opinion on them yet. What I will say is I can hear that terrible alarm (dun DUN dun dun DUN dun) in my head. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually but one patient compared it to a polka. I don't think patients want to be woken up by polkas in the middle of the night because they're bending their arms. (Yes, you can turn the volume down, but turn it too far down and you won't hear it unless you're standing right there).

I'll get back to you after I've worked with them for longer than eight hours!